Gun Control Advocates

The greatest thing about this trial is that if George Zimmerman was not allowed to carry a gun, there would not have been a death. There may have been a fight, but no death. Gun control advocates, are you listening? No gun — no murder. How many times must this happen before the law is changed? This is a tragedy for Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. This could have been avoided. Lois Voron, Delray Beach

How do you beat a deal offering a free shotgun? Add the ammo. That is the genius behind a shotgun-giveaway gimmick spreading across an Orlando neighborhood. A pro-gun group called The Armed Citizen Project of Florida is offering residents of the Sunshine Gardens neighborhood one free shotgun and ammunition, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The group is seeking what it calls "volunteer households" to take a stand against crime by arming themselves, hence the fee shotgun. I suppose burglars and other bad guys will hear about this development and stay away from Sunshine Gardens, which, ironically, is not known for crime.

Reversing long-held government policy, the Bush administration has told the Supreme Court that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm that isn't tied to the maintenance of state militias. The Justice Department staked out the position in briefs filed late Monday by Solicitor General Theodore Olson in two cases that the Supreme Court is considering for review. It was believed to be the first time that the department, speaking for the federal government, has said in a formal filing with a federal court that the Second Amendment grants an individual right to bear arms.

Maybe we should just give up. That's what some gun control advocates have been saying. The Navy Yard massacre occurred on the heels of an election where two Colorado politicians were recalled for successfully pushing a gun control law through their state legislature. Colorado , of all places - home of Aurora and Columbine. Mountains of cash went into that election, from the NRA on one side to Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns on the other. The NRA won that day, and they won yesterday.

WASHINGTON -- The National Rifle Association, having beaten back attempts by Congress to restrict semiautomatic assault rifles, has set its sights on a new target: it has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the ban on private ownership of fully automatic machine guns. The move has outraged law enforcement groups and gun control advocates who charge that it shows "blatant disregard for public safety and law enforcement officers" on the street. But some legal scholars say a Supreme Court ruling on the request could clear up one of the more contentious issues of constitutional law: precisely what does the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution mean when it states, "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

By TAMARA LYTLE Washington Bureau and Information from the Houston Chronicle was used to supplement this report, September 20, 2000

Gun-control advocates on Tuesday set their sights on a "dangerous dozen" politicians, including U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, who have thwarted their cause. McCollum, like most others on the list, is in a competitive race this fall. The Longwood Republican is running for the Senate against Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson, a Democrat. Handgun Control Inc., founded by Jim and Sarah Brady, has spent about $250,000 on ads criticizing McCollum. On Tuesday they added him to their list of the most anti-gun-control legislators in the country.

Buried in the fine print of the government appropriations bill now heading for passage is a potent measure of the gun lobby's muscle in the Republican-controlled Congress. There, amid the reams of routine housekeeping necessities, is a provision designed to gut the current requirement that gun dealers maintain their records of customers' identity checks for 90 days. In the name of the privacy rights of American sportsmen, the change will let records be expunged after 24 hours, making it that much more difficult for law enforcement to track guns that have been used in crimes.

How do you beat a deal offering a free shotgun? Add the ammo. That is the genius behind a shotgun-giveaway gimmick spreading across an Orlando neighborhood. A pro-gun group called The Armed Citizen Project of Florida is offering residents of the Sunshine Gardens neighborhood one free shotgun and ammunition, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The group is seeking what it calls "volunteer households" to take a stand against crime by arming themselves, hence the fee shotgun. I suppose burglars and other bad guys will hear about this development and stay away from Sunshine Gardens, which, ironically, is not known for crime.

There is a verse out of God's word that states, "for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." That holds so true with this latest shooting incident in Arkansas that it cannot be ignored. "You are what you eat" has been stated by health-conscious people. If a diet consists of mostly fattening high calorie foods, extra unwanted weight is usually the fruit borne from such an appetite. In like manner, if you feed a child a diet of violence and starve them of godly and parental guidance, the fruit that they bear in society will be violent.

Wal-Mart was deluged with praise and condemnation Wednesday for its decision to toughen its policies on gun sales, a surprise move that highlighted flaws in the system that is used to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. National Rifle Association's said it opposed the decision, but was not considering a boycott of Wal-Mart -- a relief to the nation's biggest retailer. "We feel it's not right that law-abiding citizens should have to bear the burden for a system that doesn't work," said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam.

The greatest thing about this trial is that if George Zimmerman was not allowed to carry a gun, there would not have been a death. There may have been a fight, but no death. Gun control advocates, are you listening? No gun — no murder. How many times must this happen before the law is changed? This is a tragedy for Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. This could have been avoided. Lois Voron, Delray Beach

Many gun-control advocates claim the Second Amendment has no place in 21st century America, insisting gun ownership is a "collective right" associated only with organized, state-run militias, and not an "individual right" belonging to all law-abiding citizens. Superb scholarship in the last 50 years has trumped the "collective right" argument. Scholars who studied the issue include liberal Harvard law professor Lawrence Tribe. He concluded the Second Amendment, while of "uncertain scope," applies to the right of individuals to "possess and use firearms in the defense of themselves and their homes.

Palm Beach County 's struggle to impose tougher local gun control measures suffered more setbacks on Tuesday. First, the County Commission did away with a long-standing prohibition against allowing guns in local parks, because the rule conflicted with state law. Then, commissioners delayed a proposal calling for state legislation to ban the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines, like those used in the Jan. 8 Tucson shootings. County officials contend they only recently learned about the state law, approved during the 1980s, that allows concealed weapons permit holders to bring their guns to Florida parks.

After a burglar stole a gun from his home west of Delray Beach last year, Arthur Ventre assumed his Glock 17 disappeared forever in the criminal underworld. Yet about five months later, Boynton Beach police found his 9mm in the back seat of a car filled with marijuana and fleeing from officers and a shooting. "I was quite surprised where it turned up," Ventre said. With demand for guns growing on the streets, police say drug dealers, gang members, robbers and murderers are increasingly arming themselves with handguns, shotguns and assault rifles stolen from cars, homes, businesses and boats of law-abiding residents in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and other Palm Beach County communities.

Buried in the fine print of the government appropriations bill now heading for passage is a potent measure of the gun lobby's muscle in the Republican-controlled Congress. There, amid the reams of routine housekeeping necessities, is a provision designed to gut the current requirement that gun dealers maintain their records of customers' identity checks for 90 days. In the name of the privacy rights of American sportsmen, the change will let records be expunged after 24 hours, making it that much more difficult for law enforcement to track guns that have been used in crimes.

Sunday morning special: three mini-columns for the price of one. News item: Jury finds gun company partly liable in shooting death, awards $1.2 million to family of murdered Palm Beach County teacher Barry Grunow. The more you look at this verdict, the hazier and more troubling it gets. Gun control advocates hailed it as an important warning shot grazing the worried brow of the gun industry. The gun lobby dismissed it as a meaningless misfire that will be overturned on appeal. Here's what it really was: a victory for expediency, with jurors who were unwilling to stick to their guns giving in to a half-baked compromise after six hours.

Maybe we should just give up. That's what some gun control advocates have been saying. The Navy Yard massacre occurred on the heels of an election where two Colorado politicians were recalled for successfully pushing a gun control law through their state legislature. Colorado , of all places - home of Aurora and Columbine. Mountains of cash went into that election, from the NRA on one side to Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns on the other. The NRA won that day, and they won yesterday.

What is perhaps most sobering and provocative about Guns: A Day in the Death of America, a remarkable new TV documentary about America`s fatal attraction, is hearing survivors of gun incidents express their initial disbelief that any shooting had occurred. Premiering at 10 tonight on HBO, the show relentlessly chronicles the 61 deaths by firearm that occurred in America one year ago, from midnight-to- midnight July 16, 1989. We hear the father of a 16-year-old girl who shot herself with her stepmother`s .38 say, "It was one of those calls you think will never happen to you."

Gun control advocates call it a landmark decision that has the gun industry trembling. The gun lobby calls it superfluous, what will prove to be an inconsequential footnote in a long legal war. More impartial observers say the $1.2 million decision by a West Palm Beach jury against the South Florida distributor of the handgun used to murder Lake Worth teacher Barry Grunow is an incremental step that could be the harbinger of wider change. Legal change is achieved slowly, decision by decision, said Matt Bennett, an attorney and communications director for Americans for Gun Safety -- a group that supports gun rights and reducing access to guns by criminals and children.